Chapter 34: A Frightening List

After Bai Qiannuo left, Li Qi continued to lie under the great tree and drifted off to sleep.

The "Lady Bai" from earlier had broken him out in a cold sweat. It was only after learning she was a close friend of his mistress that Li Qi had finally breathed a sigh of relief. Women of Madam Qin's temperament rarely had friends, but those who were her friends usually held significant status. Thus, Li Qi was no longer particularly worried about Bai Qiannuo, especially since she had not fully grasped his plans.

He slept until the afternoon. To be precise, Li Qi was woken up by hunger.

With a fishing rod over his shoulder, a bamboo hat on his head, and worn-out straw sandals on his feet, he returned to the city. After finding a casual eatery to fill his stomach, Li Qi wandered aimlessly through the streets.

Though it seemed aimless, it was not. Whenever he encountered a blacksmith shop, Li Qi would step inside, chat with the owner for a few moments, and then walk back out. Throughout the afternoon, he visited at least four or five blacksmiths without buying a single thing, yet the smile on his face only grew wider.

As the sun began to set, the clouds in the western sky were stained a brilliant golden-red, a truly beautiful sight!

"Uncle Wu must be finishing up his work by now," he thought.

Seeing that the time was right, Li Qi headed toward Drunken Immortal Pavilion. By the time he reached Bianhe Street, night had quietly descended upon the imperial capital. However, in an open dynasty like the Northern Song, nightlife was a given; the streets, taverns, wine shops, and teahouses were all bustling with activity.

Yet, the primary topic of conversation today remained, as expected, stinky tofu. Walking down the street and listening to the commoners discuss the dish, Li Qi felt incredibly happy. This meant that Wu Furong and his team had not made any mistakes today. Furthermore, with such buzz, he believed that the "old fox" would soon be lured out of his hole.

Humming a little tune, Li Qi arrived at Drunken Immortal Pavilion. Before he could even step through the door, he saw Wu Furong standing outside, frantically waving at him. "Uncle Wu!"

Wu Furong turned around, his face lighting up. He hurried over and said, "Young Master Li, you've finally returned! I was just about to go look for you."

Hearing this, Li Qi felt something was amiss. He frowned and asked, "Uncle Wu, has something happened?"

"Something big!" Wu Furong slapped his thigh, grabbed Li Qi by the sleeve, and pulled him toward the back room. "Young Master Li, come quickly—come with me!"

Something big? Li Qi was completely bewildered. He racked his brain but could not imagine what kind of major event could arise from selling a bit of stinky tofu. "Wait—wait a moment, Uncle Wu, what exactly happened?"

"You'll see once you look."

Wu Furong, looking anxious, dragged Li Qi into his room.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What is that? It's so bright, so bright!"

As soon as they entered, several beams of silver light hit his eyes. Li Qi hurriedly covered his face with his hands and exclaimed in a slightly trembling, exaggerated voice. When Wu Furong opened the door, Li Qi had seen a pile of silver ingots of varying sizes, shimmering with silver light, sitting on the square table by the bed. Anyone would be shocked by such a sight.

"Brother Li, you're finally back! My uncle was worried sick."

It was the voice of Wu Xiaoliu. Li Qi lowered his hand and looked closely. He saw Wu Xiaoliu appearing from somewhere, looking at him with an expression that mixed terror and surprise. Behind Wu Xiaoliu stood two strangers, about his age—one tall and one short. They looked somewhat similar, both with honest, blockheaded expressions, staring blankly at Li Qi.

"Who are they?" Li Qi asked, stunned.

Wu Furong quickly explained, "These two are the brothers I mentioned to you yesterday." He pointed to the taller one. "This is Chen Dazhu." Then he pointed to the shorter one. "And this is Chen Xiaozhu."

With that, Wu Furong gestured to the brothers. "Why don't you greet Young Master Li?"

"Greetings, Young Master Li!" the two said, finally reacting and bowing hastily.

Li Qi realized then that he had forgotten that Wu Furong had mentioned hiring two boys to help out. Seeing their honest demeanor, he felt a fondness for them. He chuckled and said, "Don't call me Young Master Li. Just call me Brother Li, like Liu does."

"Understood, Brother Li!" the two answered in unison.

"Good lads." Li Qi smiled, then turned his gaze to the pile of silver ingots. There were about a dozen or so, with the smallest denomination being five taels each, totaling at least over a hundred taels. Even without thinking hard, he knew this money couldn't have come from selling stinky tofu. He had strictly limited customers to one portion each, priced at only three hundred coins per portion. How could they have earned so many silver ingots? Pointing at the pile, he asked Wu Furong, "What is this silver for?"

"Oh, look at me, I completely forgot!" Wu Furong patted his forehead, hurriedly took a white sheet of paper from his robe, and handed it to Li Qi. "Young Master Li, you'll understand once you read this."

Li Qi gave him a suspicious look, took the paper, and unfolded it. He gasped. The paper was filled with the names of mansions and individuals. Li Qi recognized almost none of the names, but the official titles listed after them shocked him greatly.

They were all officials of the fourth rank or higher.

*What—what is going on here?*

Li Qi swallowed hard and read it again carefully. He noticed that the first two entries listed only the names of mansions, without names or titles, but he found the second entry very familiar. It clearly read: "Grand Tutor Cai's Mansion."

Grand Tutor Cai? Li Qi pondered for a moment, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat. Could this be the leader of the infamous "Six Thieves"—the treacherous minister Cai Jing?

*Oh my god!*

Although Li Qi knew that Cai Jing had retired and returned home, he also knew that in two years, Cai Jing would serve as Chancellor for the fourth time. A chill ran down his spine.

His eyes drifted to the first entry: "Chancellor Wang's Mansion." Anyone ranked ahead of Cai Jing was surely no ordinary person. A Chancellor surnamed Wang... Li Qi frowned, then gasped again. He turned to Wu Furong and asked in a trembling voice, "This—this Chancellor Wang... it wouldn't be Wang Fu, would it?"

Wu Furong nodded with a mournful expression.

*Damn it!*

Li Qi collapsed onto a stool. He had heard of these two treacherous ministers far too often! The Northern Song could be said to have been half-destroyed by their hands.

In truth, when Emperor Huizong of Song first ascended the throne, he had been ambitious and wanted to be a good ruler, even issuing edicts to seek honest advice and talented people. It was only after Cai Jing became Chancellor that Huizong began his descent into the ranks of incompetent rulers. Later, he appointed other corrupt ministers like Wang Fu and Li Bangyan as Chancellors, leaving the country in ruins and the people in misery.

With a room full of corrupt ministers, how could the Northern Song not fall?

Of course, the blame couldn't be placed entirely on the "Six Thieves." He remembered that when Emperor Huizong was still Prince Duan, the then-Chancellor Zhang Dun had made a remarkably prophetic remark: "Prince Duan is flighty and cannot rule the world."

How right he was!

Emperor Huizong was simply not cut out to be an emperor; he might have been the emperor in history who least liked being an emperor.

To be honest, Li Qi was not prepared to deal with these "great tigers." Or rather, he had never once thought about it. Even now, names like Cai Jing and Wang Fu remained for him figures on the pages of history. Yet, for these names to suddenly jump from his history textbooks right in front of him was something he found truly hard to accept.